Relaxing

The imagery on the postcard might seem more suited to the First World War than the Second, but it indicates the strength of imperial sentiment through the 1940s.

The return of peace in 1918 was a momentous occasion - so momentous that special commemorative greeting cards were printed and sold.

With some careful re-wording, the British national anthem "God Save the King" was turned into a tribute to men at war.

This simple poem captures a First World War soldier's thoughts as he travelled on a train bound for leave in Britain.

Lawrence Hunt was a New York lawyer who emerged as a critic of American isolationism in the Second World War. His writings were published widely in the British Empire and he was a popular speaker on the wartime lecture circuit.

Military, religious, and national symbols mingled in this postcard produced during the Second World War for the Quebec market.

At Christmas 1917, this soldier wrote that he was "Still Going Strong." Did he survive the war?

This hospital unit was established in Dundurn, Saskatchewan, in September 1940, and went overseas early in 1942. Glen's card to his mother was written a few days before the Canadian raid on Dieppe.

To take advantage of a sales opportunity, this enterprising manufacturer may have simply taken a prewar birthday card and embossed on it the crest of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Jim Taunton of Verdun, Quebec, was spending Christmas 1940 in uniform, after enlisting in the Black Watch in Montreal.